Welt



Jan. '19, 1937. v R ARN LD 2,068,364

WELT

Filed April 22, 1936 amt F7763 Patented Jan. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELT Application April 22, 1936, Serial No. 75,731

Claims.

This invention relates to welting used in the manufacture of welted shoes. One object of the invention is to insure the sewing of a tight inseam while yet giving to the manufacturer the benefit of a wider grain surface for the welt extension. Another object of the invention is to prepare or fit the inner or inseam edge oi a welting strand in such manner as to retain the standard width of grain for the welt extension upon a strand that is narrower than normal. Another object of the invention is to provide a so-called groove and bevel at the inner or inseam edge of the welting strand that facilitates entry of the inseam sewing machine needle for piercing through the welt at the bottom of its groove and in a direction to cause the needle to emerge at the break point or juncture of the bevel with the grain. Welting having features of construction enabling these objects to be attained is more easily stitched, may be drawn in to a tighter seam without the danger of a. grinning inseam and provides for the full usual width of welt extension at less expense, or for an increased width at no greater expense. A still further object of the invention is to so fit the inseam edge of the welt that a. smooth bottom results after inseam trimming and welt beating including a closing over or filling of the depression formed by drawing the stitches down into the sewing groove.

The features of the invention through which these objects and such others as may hereinafter appear are accomplished, will best be understood from the following description of the best form of the invention at present known when read in connection with the accompanying drawing showing a comparison of the old and. the new fitting at the inseam edge and the results obtained on sewing the new welting to the upper and insole of a welted shoe.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is an end view, in perspective, of a fragment of a strand of welting showing the old or standard form of groove and bevel tting at its inseam edge. In this figure and in Fig. 2 a common size of welt, in this instance X i; inch, is shown greatly enlarged both figures being dimensioned to permit a comparison of the old standard inseam edge fitting with the new;

Fig. 2 is an end view, in perspective, of a fragment of a stand of welting showing the new groove and bevel fitting;

Fig. 3 is a view, in section, of a portion of a lasted welt shoe with the new welt of this invention in position for inseaming, the relation of the needle and channel guide thereto alsobeing illustrated;

Fig. 4 is a view, in plan, of a portion of a lasted welt shoe showing the strand of welting being fed thereto through a welt guide; and

Fig. 5 is a view, in section, of a portion of a welt shoe embodying the new welting after in seam. trimming and welt beating.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing both the shape and the location of the welt groove is changed from former standard practice; also a novel form of so-called bevel co-operates with the new kind of welt groove to gain a tight seam, with the inner edge of the grain extension drawn snugly against the overlasted upper in the angle formed by the insole feather and its adjacent sewing rib.

Referring first to Fig. 1 showing the standard groove and bevel fitting for the inseam edge of welting a x 5 inch welting strand H] is shown having the usual 45 flat bevel II at the inner grain corner, said bevel taking from midway of the thickness of the welting. The location of the groove [2 is determined by projecting a plane across the strand from the break point l3 and perpendicular to the plane of the bevel l l and then cutting the groove with a circular knife having its outer edge lying at the intersection of said plane with the flesh face of the strand. The standard groove is inch wide and its depth should be substantially A; of the thickness or weight of the welting in order to leave sufficient substance to hold the inseam. Thus, on the illustrated standard size the center of the groove is 2 inch from the inseam edge and the bevel allows a grain extension.

Referring now to Fig. 2 showing the same standard x {'s inch strand Illa it will be observed that the relatively large flat bevel is not used; in place thereof the inner grain corner is treated lightly taking from about down the thickness of the strand and removing stock merely sufficient to form a convex fillet M or rounded corner shaped for snugly fitting into the concaved angle outside the sewing-rib I5 (Fig. 3) left by the upper lasting. The accurate seating of the welt in this angle thus obtained prevents the welt from slipping out of its exact relation to the path of the needle I6 as determined by the welt guide I! (Fig. 4). A wholly new type of groove is made with a grooving knife having a U-shaped cutting blade that is relatively long as compared to the width of the groove to be cut thereby. This knife is soset in the welt preparing machine that it cuts an oblique or angle groove l8 in the flesh face of the strand. The groove is located nearer to the inseam edge of the strand than in standard practice, that is, its outer edge lies in a plane that passes through the center of the standard welt groove (compare Figs. 1 and 2). The groove l8, because of its angular relation to the flesh face of thestrand, permitting direct entry of the needle 16 as will be explained, may be somewhat narrower than the standard groove l2. Its angularity is preferably determined by pointing it to the break point 1301., that is, a plane passed centrally through the groove will emerge from the grain face of the welt at its break point. Thus, in the illustrated standard size of welting the center of the angle groove is substantially inch nearer to the inseam edge and the new form of bevel allows a 3% inch grain extension. Stated differently the new groove and bevel fitting, among other advantages, provides a inch wider grain extension on all sizes. It is not essential that the inner grain corner be cut with a round bladed knife because of the minor amount of substance that is removed but it is preferable in that it enables a tighter and more secure fitting of the inseam edge against the lasted upper.

Fig. 3 illustrates the novelly fitted welt of this invention in its relation to the needle at the inseaming operation. It will be observed that the pivot IQ of the needle holder, or center of its path of travel, is above and substantially in the plane of the sewing rib 15 or about midway between the welt guide I! and channel guide 20 (Fig. 4). Fine shoemaking requires the inseam to lie at the base of the between substance, the needle entering through the outside angle and emerging flush with the face of the insole within its channel. The angle groove H3 in the welt is specially adapted to sewing such a seam. The angularity is such that it lies directly along the path of the descending needle and points directly to the base of the between substance through which it is desired that the needle shall penetrate. This considerable advantage is not provided by the standard groove l2 as is too well understood by those skilled in the art to need elaboration here. If the needle is deflected and passes through the bevel of the welt inside of the break point'then a portion of the flesh on the bevel will show forming, after welt beating, what is called a grinning inseam; if the needle digs so deep as to sew through the insole body below the sewing rib, the needle then passes through the grain of the welt outside of the break point, and there is a loss in the width of the grain extension. A grinning inseam, 'when noticeable, means a crippled shoe, and less grain extension means trimming down the outsole to fit with considerable loss of expensive leather stock. The novel welting of this invention cures both of these manufacturing troubles by insuring that the needle passes through the welt at the break point and not at either side thereof. 7

There is a further advantage inherent in the use of an angle groove. After inseam trimming on a shoe welted with the standard grooved and beveled welting the circular cut groove is necessarily left open forming a depression which will not be closed by the welt beating operation and which is detrimental to the bottoming operation. Welting fitted with the angle groove of this invention eliminates depression along the line of the inseam and provides for a smooth flesh surface on the welt for receiving the out- Firstly the stitched seam substantiallysole. fills the space between the walls of the narrow groove and secondly the bending of the welt while being beaten causes the overhanging lip 2| (see Fig. 5) at .the inner wall of the groove to close in upon the seam and to fill and cover 7 the open end of the groove.

not require this extra width of grain a great saving in the cost of welting will be eifected by purchasing one width smaller of the new welt which will yield the old standard grain extension or sufiicient for their specifications.

While, for ease of explanation, the foregoing description has emphasized the value of the invention for producing grain leather welting, it must be understood that its use is beneficial in the production of cheaper grades: of welting which may have the face providing the exposed extension formed of an applied grain ribbon or of an imitation of grain or stained to imitate grain combined with any desired body material, in fact, the novel inclined groove is useful in improving shoemaking with any Welt material having been specifically described, what is claimed as new, is:-

1. Leather welting for shoes having a sewing groove in its flesh face the lie of the groove being such that the plane of each wall thereof forms an acute angle with the plane of the inseam edge of the welt.

2. Welting for shoes having a relatively narrow U-shaped sewing groove in one face near the inseam edge of the welt, said groove having substantially parallel side walls wardly and outwardly towards said inseam edge.

3. Welting for shoes having a sewing groove in one face inclined downwardly and outwardly towards the inseam edge of the welt, and said welt having the corner of its inseam edge at the other face of the welt removed.

4. Leather welting for shoes fitted with a sewing groove in its flesh face inclined downwardly andoutwardly towards the inseam edge of the welt and said inseam edge having a relatively small convex flesh fillet at its grain face corner.

5. Leather welting according to claim 4 in which the inclination of the sewing groove is such that an extension of its central plane passes through the area of the break point between the grain and the flesh at said grain face corner.

PEARL C. ARNOLD.

inclined downi 

